OCRI Investigators Present at IADR/AADR Annual Meeting in Boston
The Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) Oral Cancer Research Initiative (OCRI) had a strong presence at the 93rd General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) and the 44th annual Meeting & Exhibition of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), which took place in Boston from March 11–14, 2015. This prestigious scientific meeting is a forum for investigators to discuss and learn about advances in research. The program consisted of oral sessions, symposia, high profile keynote speakers, workshops and poster sessions. OCRI investigators organized and participated in various activities including contributing several posters.
On March 11, during the “Mechanisms of Neoplasia” Session, OCRI investigator and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology Dr. Manish Bais gave an oral presentation on the mouse model he developed for the study of primary tumor growth and metastasis. Dr. Bais’s presentation, “Orthotopic Oral Cancer Mouse Model to Validate the Anti-Cancer Activity of LOX-PP, Tunicamycin and AhR Modulator,” discussed this work which will help to establish patient-derived OSCC mouse models in order to better understand the biology of oral cancer as well as provide additional therapeutic opportunities in the treatment of this deadly disease. Exciting preliminary studies have already validated the efficacy of several targeted therapeutics currently being studied by OCRI investigators.
Director of the OCRI and Associate Dean for Research Dr. Maria Kukuruzinska organized a mini-symposium entitled, “Epithelial-Stromal Crosstalk in Oral Cancer,” which took place on March 12. This session invited investigators who study stromal activation and remodeling in cancer to discuss their most up-to-date research findings in the field of oral cancer biology. Featured presenters included Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry and Cell Biology at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom Dr. Daniel Lambert, Associate Professor in Computational Biology at Boston University School of Medicine Dr. Stefano Monti, and Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and Professor of Cutaneous Biology at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Gian Paolo Dotto.
Dr. Monti began the session with his talk, “Oral Cancer: Lessons from the Analysis of Genomic Data Sets.” This presentation was followed by a presentation from Dr. Lambert, “Non-coding RNA: Micromanagers of the Tumor Microenvironment.” Dr. Lambert was also the chairperson of the event.
The symposium concluded with a presentation from Dr. Dotto titled, “CSL-p53 Interacting Determinants of CAF Activation and Field Cancerization.” Dr. Dotto also presented at the Head & Neck Cancer Symposium co-hosted by GSDM and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the spring of 2014.
On the evening of March 12, several OCRI members attended a reception hosted by GSDM which took place at the Sheraton Boston Hotel. The reception was a lively event which gave investigators an opportunity to socialize, network and to celebrate their research accomplishments.
OCRI investigators were listed as co-authors on six poster presentations during the event’s poster sessions. The work on display was presented by pre- and post-doctoral trainees associated with the OCRI’s Etiology and Pathogenesis of Oral Cancer (EPOC) ARC.
Poster presentations included:
Targeting the N-glycosylation Regulating Gene, DPAGT1m for Oral Cancer
Khalid Alamoud, Maria Kukuruzinska and Manish Bais
N-glycosylation Signaling Pathways in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Munirah Almershed and Maria Kukuruzinska
The Hippo Pathway Effector Yap Regulates Mouse Submandibular Gland Development
Rongjuan Mi, Maria Kukuruzinska and Bob Varelas
Osteoblasts, Osteoclasts, and Bone I/ Analysis of the Bone Phenotype of Lysyl-Oxidase Like-1 Knockout Mice
Eileen Daley and Philip Trackman
Pharmacology & Toxicology/ Macropinocytosis Uptake Pathways for the Lysyl Oxidase Propeptide (rLOX-PP)
Gokhan Baris Ozdener and Philip Trackman
LOX-PP Stimulates Bone Cell Differentiation and Modulates Cancer Bone Lesions
Mona Alsulaiman, Manish Bais and Philip Trackman